NA body takes serious notice of rules violations by NCHR

Islamabad

National Assembly Standing Committee on Human Rights, on Thursday, took serious notice of the violations of set rules and procedures by the National Commission on Human Rights (NCHR).

In a meeting, held under the chairpersonship of Member National Assembly (MNA), Baber Nawaz Khan, the committee directed the Ministry of Human Rights (MoHR) to form a five-member committee and investigate issues raised in 14 questions asked by the committee four months back regarding NCHR performance. The regretted that despite many extensions in the time of answering the questions, the NCHR failed submit the answers. The Ministry was asked to report back to the committee within 15 days. 

The committee also expressed reservations against NCHR for directly sending the shadow report on Convention against Torture (CAT) to Geneva without following the legal procedure which requires them to first send the report to MoHR. The Commission was also criticized for getting into agreements with the international organizations without taking the Ministry and Commission members into confidence. The committee also asked questions about the absence of financial and recruitment rules for NCHR despite the fact that the Commission became operational in 2015.

The Secretary NCHR Mashhood Mirza apprised the committee members that they have prepared their financial rules but MOHR raised objection that they were not taken on board while preparing the rules. The committee chairman directed the Commission to withdraw the draft rules and form a new committee with the involvement of all stakes holders as per legal obligations for setting up new rules of the commission and draw a time frame to complete the process in time.

Chairperson Committee Baber Nawaz Khan also presented the evidence of the violations of the rules in NCHR and said that the Committee is raising all these issues to hold the Commission accountable as they are being paid from the public money. “It is our duty to protect the public interest and make sure that the expenditures are made in rightful manner,” he said.

The committee also condemned the child violence cases reported from Sheikhupura in which a woman chopped hand of a child domestic servant and another one from Mardan.

Regarding the Sheikhupura incident the Ministry of Human Rights Secretary, Rabia Agha Javari, briefed that case has already been registered which is under investigation now and the accused Shafqat Bibi was on bail while his brother was in custody.